


Hell is Empty and All the Devils Are Here

by QueenOfAllCorgis



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Dark!Klaus, Insanity, Like...real dark, Sparrow!Ben, Sparrow!Klaus, this got dark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:40:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26400529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenOfAllCorgis/pseuds/QueenOfAllCorgis
Summary: Five has seen some things in his time. Well, in his times? It doesn't matter, seeing strange versions of his family shouldn't disturb him this much. It shouldn't even reach his top five most disturbing moments.But, his brother never looked so unhinged.Klaus never showed this monstrous side of himself and it was terrifying.-Or, Sparrow Academy Klaus is Number Two and instead of running from the ghosts made the ghosts run from him. Dark!Klaus with scary superpowers.
Comments: 98
Kudos: 442





	1. Chapter 1

“Who are these assholes?”

It was such an absurd thing, so out of character for Ben, that Five would have laughed if the situation weren’t so bizarre. The Ben staring back at them wasn’t the Ben he knew. Ben’s eyes were never that cold, never that dark, never that cruel.

This.

Wasn’t.

Their.

Family.

The realization sizzled down his spine like a fire cracker, igniting every nerve. There was movement on the balcony and Reginald stared back at them with a sly, knowing smirk. Instinct took over at that point, Five’s body moving into a defensive stance.

“These intruders don’t belong here, in this house or in this timeline,” Reginald sniffed, waving his hand and turning back towards the fireplace.

They weren’t even worth watching die.

“Number One, have Number Two do it,” he called out and Five felt himself relax a bit.

Luther’s shoulders slumped as he realized that he wasn’t Number One anymore, a silly thought. They had much bigger problems right now. At least Diego was easy enough to fight, his style predictive and repetitive.

“Thanks,” Diego’s sarcastic grumble clued him into the fact that he spoke out loud. Eh, it was still true.

“ _He’s_ your Number Two?” Not-Ben barked out a laugh, the fabric of his uniform squirming a bit by his stomach. A monster wanting to get out and its keeper all too willing to let it. “That’s hysterical.”

Now Diego had his ego bruised.

“Then who the fuck is he talking about?” Five snapped, annoyed at the stupid dramatics.

“Me.”

And a cold hand was wrapped around Five’s throat.

He gagged, trying to suck in a breath, but the hand closed even tighter. There were shouts around him and then crashes, but Five couldn’t see. He couldn’t look away from what was holding him. He couldn’t even if he wanted to.

Five knew that grin but he hadn’t seen the absolute madness behind it. He knew that face but not the pale, tightness to it. He knew that laugh but not the sharp insanity in it.

It was Klaus but not.

Not-Klaus was wearing the uniform but it was all _wrong, wrong, wrong._ The pants were covered in rips and stains, possibly…blood? The shirt was gone underneath and the jacket was far too big, partially shredded down the side.

The rips revealed something even more terrifying.

The entire left side of his chest was practically gone. Skin torn, muscle glistening and bone shining white in the faint light. The sight of it made nausea rise in Five’s stomach, made only worse by the realization that the cold, sharp touch at his throat was because Not-Klaus’s hand was made up of mostly exposed bone.

“So…you’re the little ringleader hmm?” Not-Klaus’s voice was scratchy, like he had spent too much of his time _screaming_. His head cocked to the side and a terrible, cold light seemed to shine from his eyes. “I can tell you know. I can alwaaaays tell.”

“How can you tell Number Two?” Not-Ben asked, a laugh in his tone.

Not-Klaus’s head jerked too fast, too far, an overresponse to the voice. He hummed again and grinned wider. “His little entourage. Lotsa, lotsa, lotsa bodies. Lotsa, lotsa, losta screams.”

“What the ever-loving fuck?” Klaus shouted somewhere off to his side and suddenly the hold was gone. Five fell to his cheeks, gasping in breaths and trying to get his bearings.

Not-Klaus’s hand, his hand that was whole that is, was extended. Blue glowed at his fingertips and the light shone against his siblings’ chests.

A barrier.

“Now, don’t get distracted,” Not-Ben teased.

“It’s hard when there is just so…much,” Not-Klaus shuddered and Five found his Klaus, face alight with absolute horror. “Can you hear them? God…it’s like a symphony…”

And then Five heard it too.

It started like a whisper, growing and growing until Five thought his ears would burst. The wails, the furious shrieks, from those he had killed made him cower. Was that his fear or someone else’s that he was feeling? Was it the fear they all felt, all at once?

“Now, shh,” and Not-Klaus was in front of him, petting at his face and wiping his tears. “It’s fine. They can’t hurt you…not unless I let them.”

“Number Two,” Not-Ben sighed.

“What?” Not-Klaus snapped back, body going stiff. The bone of his fingers digging into Five’s cheek. “What? Do you want to hear _your friends?”_

And he went quiet.

Shit, if even their Number One was afraid of him…

“Hey, hey,” his brother called out, using his good prophet voice no doubt. “Let’s all just calm down, yeah? Us two, clearly the hottest siblings in any universe, can have a little… tête-à-tête.”

That seemed to be enough to capture Not-Klaus’s attention.

Apparently, ADHD was the same in any timeline.

“And you’re…you’re me!” Those glowing eyes lit up, his hands clapping together sounding wrong as most of one had no flesh. “Isn’t this a treat?”

The Not-Klaus almost skipped towards him, the glow around his siblings fading. There was a motion, like they were finally let go after being held by strong arms. Klaus didn’t show any discomfort other than a strange smile, eyes not moving towards the…missing parts.

“Oh…but what a shame,” the Not-Klaus paused, head cocking just a touch too far to the side to be natural. “You’re _spoiled._ ”

Allison was at his side, her hands trembling where they rested on Five’s shoulder. “Go…get him out of…”

“He’ll unleash them,” Five mumbled, not needing to say who they were. He had felt the pure rage focused on him, as well as the way Not-Klaus held them back. He could teleport to him, but an army of vengeful dead could rip him apart just as fast.

He wouldn’t be able to stop them from going after his family either.

“I am insulted,” Klaus huffed, pushing his cowboy hat a bit further back.

Not-Klaus wrinkled his nose. “I can…oh dear…all that wasted potential.”

“I can see,” Klaus raised his eyebrows, giving Not-Klaus a tight smile and sending him into a fit of giggles. “I’m super missing out.”

“No, no, no,” Not-Klaus shook his head, frizzy curls flying. “You don’t see. You are…you hid from them? Why would you hide from them?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Five could see Diego inching forward.

“The ghosts? I’d rather live in a raunchy rom-com than a horror movie any day,” Klaus had to see Diego creeping in too, but his face didn’t betray anything.

Not-Klaus let out another high shriek of a laugh. “Aw…you were afraid? How could you be afraid? _They_ should be scared of _you._ ”

And Diego’s knife went flying.

It hit Not-Klaus right in the base of his skull with a dull thunk, enough to make Five wince. Klaus sprung away, disgust and fear on his face as he skittered along the side to stand by Luther. The larger man grabbed his arm and pulled him in beside Vanya, moving to shield them.

It should have been the end of it.

But Not-Klaus reached up to pull the knife from his head, blood darkening his already stained jacket. He tapped the knife lightly against his hand, blade side down so it cut into his palm and sent forth another stream of blood.

“Have you died yet?” The airy voice was the only thing in the room. He still stood facing away from them, blood dribbling onto the carpet. “I mean, really died?”

“Yes,” Klaus breathed and Luther stiffened next to him.

“And wasn’t it…did you meet her?” Not-Klaus sounded almost rapturous.

“I did. God’s kind of a bitch, isn’t she? She kick you out too?” It wasn’t often he heard his brother sound so serious and Five could hardly breathe.

“God?” Not-Klaus turned to face them. “I didn’t meet God.”

Five blinked.

He was right in front of Not-Klaus, a desperate fire in him as he grabbed the knife and plunged the knife into his heart. A wave of screams, fingers scrabbling at his jacket, and Not-Klaus’s grin sent him falling back. Five writhed on the floor as his jacket was ripped, furious hands twisting in it.

He was going to be torn apart.

He was going to be ripped limb from limb by the ghosts of the people who he had killed.

And then…nothing.

Diego grabbed him and pulled him back into their nervous little huddle. The knife Klaus pulled out of his own chest clattered to the floor and he smiled, a brittle thing. He seemed to be _delighting_ in their fear.

“You get better at it the more you do it. Dying that it,” he said to Klaus, grin widening when he shrunk back against Luther. “Come back faster every time. I think She might be a bit scared of me really. Doesn’t even talk to me anymore. Doesn’t even make me wait in the fire.”

“Two,” Not-Ben’s voice snapped him out of whatever daze he had apparently fallen into. “Enough playing. Dad asked you to do something.”

“That’s right,” Not-Klaus rolled his eyes and clapped his hands again. “One more game though. I like playing catch. I’ll even give you a head start.”

He covered his eyes with his hands, one glowing blue between the gaps between the bones, and started counting to ten.

They started running as soon he got to two.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this one shot has become a whole thing now. I literally went to sleep thinking about it.

what was **wrong** with him??

that one looked like HIM sounded like HI _M felt like_ HIM it wasn’t HIM there was an aura **around him a br** okenness like spider fra ** _ctures a_** long glass he was wrongwrongwrong _ wrongwrong _

why **would** Other -Him choo _se to poiso_ n himself??

sick sic **k sick** the Other -Him was sick poison and chemicals and smoke and so _so so so_ so so much fear he was rank with it filthy DREN **CHED IN IT s** eeing Other -Him made HIM s ** _hiver the wrong of it all threateni_** ng to seep into HIS own bones

didn’t he know? didn’t h ** _e see how he had de_** stroyed himself??

stu _pids_ tupid _stupidst_ upid

HE would show him **HE would mak** e him understand

_thril_ **l of slipping awa** y from HIMSELF the souls _hatteri_ ngover **whelming fear of slip** ping into someone else never failed to make HIM smile

“Look at you run run running so fast. The rabbit runs but the fox still snaps its little neck,” HE laughed feeling the swirl of panic “I’ll find you. I’ll show you. You’ll know.”

and Other -Him **_screamed_**

____________________

They couldn’t get out of the mansion.

Instead of Grace’s carefully tended gardens there was a towering wall topped with barbed wire. The mansion was a prison and the idea that it was keeping in something dangerous was terrifying.

So, they hid. 

A small greenhouse, overgrown and falling apart, was hidden behind a tangle of vines and weeds. It was barely big enough to fit them all but it was a safe place. Five felt his body relaxing a bit, his mind still not quite there yet. He was able to breathe, able to think for the first time since that boney hand grabbed him. 

And then Klaus screamed. 

Everyone jumped, Diego falling into a defensive stance and Luther spinning towards the door. Five expected to see that maniacal smile but instead saw...nothing. There was absolutely nothing at the door but Klaus was still screaming like a madman.

Vanya was crouching down by him, hands flying frantically around his face in a desperate attempt to quiet him. He was scrambling backwards, hands clasped over his ears and screaming in a way that sent chills up and down Five’s spine. 

Then, suddenly, he stopped.

He sagged forward, color draining from his face and body wracked with tremors. There was a glassy sheen to his eyes that made them seem brighter than usual. He sucked in a few deep breaths, closed his eyes tight and grit his teeth.

“Klaus?” Allison tried gently, kneeling down next to Vanya. 

Green eyes blinked at her and he shivered. “That...that was him.”

“What?” Diego’s eyes narrowed and he leaned in closer. There was a tense set to his shoulders, the shift from Brother-Diego to Cop-Vigilante-Diego. “What was him?”

Klaus gagged a bit and squeezed his eyes tight. He took a few more grounding breaths and pressed his tattooed palms into his eyes. “I heard him in my head...talking to me.”

“Talking to you?” 

“Felt like...like when Ben possessed me, all cold and shivery but...screaming and...it hurt,” Klaus shivered again. “It really, really hurt.”

Allison’s petting hand stilled on his shoulder.

Vanya sucked in a short breath.

Diego pushed off the table, eyes alight with a mix of fury and panic.

“He  _ possessed _ you?” Diego hissed out. “Is he here now? Can he hear what we’re saying? Can he see us right now?”

Klaus’s thin shoulders lifted in a shrug. 

“Klaus! Answer me!”

“I don’t know!” Klaus snapped back, gripping his hair tightly. He looked completely panicked. “I don’t know how he did it or if he is still doing it. I’m  _ not him.” _

“Yes you are!” Diego argued. “You have the same DNA, you have the same powers. You are him.”

Klaus stared at him, complete disbelief in his eyes. “What?”

“You always said your powers were useless but...that time in the theater? You used Ben’s powers to fight off those soldiers?” Diego waved his hands a bit. “You can use the powers of the dead. Just now, when that...he pushed us back...you felt it didn’t you? He bent the air around us and forced us away. That’s  _ my _ power. He killed this timeline’s version of me and used my power.”

Five sighed, recognizing the manic look that his brother wore in the asylum. “Diego, Klaus didn’t do that. Something went wrong in the timeline and made us all-”

“Evil? No, it made some of us evil,” Diego growled out. “How many of you saw yourselves up there? Clearly...some of us went bad and some didn’t.”

Klaus staggered to his feet, leaning against the wall for stability. “Do you think I made those choices? As far as I know, I’ve never lost whole  _ chunks _ of flesh or sang the praises of the ghostly choir. Don’t you fucking dare say I did those things.”

“You...when you told us that you talked to dad that time...you said he mentioned that you had potential with your powers,” Luther chimed in, unhelpful as always. “Did you know?”

“No!” Klaus looked between them both nervously. “I didn’t!”

“Luther, Diego,” Allison spoke up and stood beside Klaus. “Stop being stupid. This is another timeline, another path that...we could have taken. It’s all different.”

“I had no idea I could do those things...I don’t know if I even can,” Klaus swallowed, adam’s apple bobbing. “Shit...I thought that if there was a timeline where I was sober I would be...a lawyer...a doctor...maybe the owner of a Cheesecake Factory franchise, I don’t know. I didn’t think that my best possible self would be as a strung out addict.”

“Klaus,” Vanya whispered, eyes huge. 

“Because that’s fucking with my head a bit,” he snarled, eyes flashing with anger. “And the idea that I could be capable of what he did? That’s fucked up as well.”

“Alright,” Five moved between them, not wanting the moment Klaus realized his own powers to be right here with all of them in such close quarters. “Stop this. You’re being incredibly  _ stupid. _ We can’t fight amongst ourselves. We need to figure out how to get back so we can  _ fix _ this.”

“And go back to what?” Klaus let out a slightly hysterical laugh. “Every time we try to do anything we make the world worse.”

Five let his arms drop to his side. A sick feeling of shame and despair flooded through him. Klaus was right. Try as they might they were always just skirting the end of the world, they were usually the cause of it too. 

“Okay, so...we get safe then. We get out of this place and figure out next steps,” Allison looked at all of them, brows raised. “Got it?”

There was a mumble of agreement. 

Klaus’s face twisted a bit in agony and he let out a pained whimper. Allison’s steadying hands were the only thing keeping him up as he shook, knees buckling. “Oh...oh fuck.”

“Is it him again?” Vanya asked, little hands fluttering like birds around his shoulder nervously. 

“He knows where we are,” Klaus choked out, looking like he was going to puke. He spoke through gritted teeth like the action of getting words out hurt. “You need to go. Leave me here and go.”

“What?” Five frowned, unease gnawing at his stomach.

“He can find me. You need to go,” Klaus relaxed, the hold on him gone. “And I’m normally not about this self-sacrificing bullshit so it is serious this time. Go.”

Luther took hold of Allison’s arm and pulled her to the door. There he was, dad’s good little soldier making a tactical decision. Diego looked more hesitant but pushed Vanya after him. He pulled on Five’s jacket until he followed as well, getting one last look at Klaus crouched over in the corner of the greenhouse. 

“We’re not gonna leave him alone, are we?” Diego mumbled as they crossed the overgrown courtyard. Their other siblings crept along the side of the mansion but they hid behind a few untrimmed hedges. 

“No chance in hell,” Five mumbled back. 

They waited for a moment before Klaus stumbled out of the greenhouse, knuckles white where he gripped the door frame. He stood there to catch his breath and then moved to the middle of the courtyard, sitting on the edge of a ruined fountain. 

“Alright, I’m here,” Klaus said softly, almost too soft to hear. 

“Me too,” came the exact same voice from across the courtyard.


	3. Chapter 3

It was the strangest standoff Five had ever seen.

On one side of the courtyard sat Klaus, shoulders hunched and face drawn. He lacked his usual air of youthfulness, instead looking decades older. He just watched the other one warily. He was a soldier too tired to fight.

Then there was the Other. Five had never been to Disneyland, Reginald would have never allowed such frivolous waste, but he had to imagine that there was some fat spoiled child with the exact same expression on their face. His smile was stretched far too wide, all his white teeth on full display and the glow from his eyes cast shadows across his cheekbones. He looked like some sort of demented Jack-o-lantern. The blood from the earlier knife wounds had dried on his chest and a few streaks trailed down his neck and collarbone. 

“Where are the rest?” the Other looked around, reminding Five of someone looking for a surprise party. When he stepped forward he did so with a limp and Five had to fight back a gag at the sight of shredded calf muscle through ripped pants. 

“Not here,” Klaus shrugged and the Other pouted. 

“That’s why you should keep them close,” he waggled a bony finger at Klaus. “I do. They can’t leave me now, not even if they want to.”

Klaus looked a bit pained at that, his eyes moving across something that neither Diego nor Five could see. “So you did kill them.”

The Other nodded furiously, a clicking sound coming from his neck. “Of course. I had to.”

“Did dear ol’ dad make you?” 

The Other’s face twisted a bit, losing that glee that seemed to be constantly on it. “Well...no...he...he hurt them, like he hurt me. I didn’t want them to hurt anymore.”

A huff of disbelief made Klaus’s shoulders jerk. “A true hero then.”

In a flash, a scowl flashed across the Other’s face and he limped towards Klaus. “You know  _ nothing _ . He wanted to twist them, break them, mold them. They  _ begged _ me to end it.”

Something heavy settled in Five’s gut at that. The Other looked unbelievably pained, tormented by even the mention of the loss of his siblings. Then, just as quickly as it came, the anger left. He twisted his hands in his long hair and bounced a bit on his feet before laughing. 

“Silly...silly me. I forget....I forget how...” he shivered, a full body movement. “I don’t remember what we were talking about?”

Silence fell over the courtyard. 

“Does it hurt?” Klaus asked softly, nodding at the wounds. The Other blinked at him and looked down at his hand, chest, and side.

“Yes...always.”

The Other seemed to go into a bit of a daze, eyes staring blankly out and body going stiff. He rocked a bit back and forth until Klaus stood and snapped him out of it. The smile returned, bright and bubbly as before. 

“Do you like playing games?” 

“If the other person wants to,” Klaus said softly. “And my brothers and sisters don’t want to play right now.”

The Other’s smile froze. “Sometimes One doesn’t want to play either. He likes to make it fast, end them all quick. I don’t. I like to hear the screams of the living. They drown out the screams of the dead.”

A soft, broken sound escaped Klaus. “Fuck.”

“But you found another way to quiet them,” the Other blinked. “All those nasty poisons in you. It makes the dead go away, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Klaus nodded. 

He had never once considered why Klaus fell into the world of drugs and alcohol. He had just thought his brother had gotten into a bad crowd or wanted to take his rebellion to the extreme. Had he really started them as a way to stop the screams? Was he always hearing them?

The Other hummed and shook his head. “Reginald would have never allowed that. He said that...that it would dull the abilities. He had seen someone, a sloppy drunk, who disgusted him...insisted that I not become him.”

Oh shit.

Reginald had seen Klaus at that tiki bar dinner and realized his potential. It was from that moment he had decided to keep a shorter leash on the children he bought. It was because of that dinner, the glimpse into his dysfunctional children, that Reginald decided to go a different route. 

Klaus took in a shaky breath, shoulders shaking. “So, you became his attack dog instead.”

The Other frowned, bony hand worrying at the lapel of his blazer before shaking his head. “Someone had to.”

“No, they didn’t. They-” and Klaus let out a squeak as the Other’s hand grabbed his dog tags and pulled. Glowing eyes narrowed and Klaus was yanked forward. 

“I’m not the only one who killed because they were told to,” the Other giggled, a high pitched sound. “The army?”

“Let go,” Klaus tried to pull away but the Other just twisted his fingers around the chain more. 

“But...it’s not you,” the Other leaned in closer. “‘David Katz’? Who is he?”

“Get the fuck off of me,” Klaus snapped and shoved him back, not even playing at trying to be nice. He grabbed the dog tags and shoved them under his vest, hiding them from sight. 

“A friend?” The Other looked curious, leaning a bit too far forward on the balls of his feet. “No?...a lover?”

Klaus’s silence was enough to answer that question. 

“Really?” The Other’s eyes lit up more. “A lover? That’s...that’s unexpected. Huh...so there is a timeline where someone could love me?”

Diego shifted a bit, eyes narrowed. Did he know about this secret...boyfriend? How had Klaus kept this to himself? He was more than happy to ramble to Five about all kinds of weird failed relationships but...did he have one that actually worked?

“Where is he?” The Other looked excited but that smile faded a bit when Klaus didn’t answer. “Oh....he died.”

“Yeah,” Klaus whispered. 

“That isn’t a problem! He’s always with you then!” The Other beamed. 

Klaus stood silently for a bit and then sighed. “We talked for a minute...but...he had been waiting for me for so long. I let him go...let him go into the light.”

“I can bring him back you know,” the Other smiled, a touch too wide again. “It’s easy to take him from that bright place. Neither of them fight when I take a soul from their grasp. They learned not to.”

“I don’t want that,” Klaus shook his head, horrified. “He’s...he’s happy there. He’s waiting for me. I don’t want to force him to be here...lost and alone. It isn’t right.”

“But...he can’t wait for you. You’re not allowed in,” the Other said slowly and Klaus jerked, realization overwhelming him for a moment. He let out a soft, wounded sound and sank back down to sit on the fountain ledge. The Other gasped and cupped his face in his hands. “Oh dear, I didn’t mean to make you upset.”

Klaus just stared up at him, breath coming short and shallow. The Other smiled, hands moving down to his neck. 

“I’ll help you. I’ll let you see him for a bit, a quick visit.”

Then there was a terrible snap, Klaus’s body went perfectly stiff, and he fell back into the broken fountain. 

Diego moved fast, knife flying. He jumped up at the same time Five blinked to Klaus’s side. The knife flew past him to slice through the Other’s neck. It shaved a bit of flesh and muscle off of his jaw, white bone shining, and severed the jugular in one movement.

The Other gagged and fell back, surprise lighting up his face. Blood sprayed out and the Other’s bony hand scrabbled a bit at the wound. Red spilled over the ground and bubbled through his teeth. 

“Oh,” he giggled when Diego stormed over. “Don’t...don’t fret. I’ll be back in a bit.”

And then his eyes went blank and he fell back, bones clicking against the ground. 

Five crouched over his fallen brother, knowing without checking that he was dead. Green eyes stared sightlessly up at the sky and his neck rested at a strange angle. Grief flooded through him and Five was brought back to the time when he found his brother in the same position after the apocalypse. 

Oh...oh God...he had buried him. 

Had Klaus come back then? Had he been trapped to come back to life only to suffocate again and again?

No...now was not the time to think about it. 

“Come on,” Diego’s jaw clenched as he lifted their brother’s limp body over his shoulder. “We gotta catch up to the others. He’ll be...we have to be fast.”

Five nodded shakily and shoved back any panic he had. There would be time for that later. Now, now they had to go.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lord, I can't stop writing this. What have y'all done to me?

_ “Took you long enough.” _

_ The voice was warm and familiar and made Klaus smile instantly. He had heard that voice, exhausted as they marched through the jungle. He had heard that voice, hushed and nervous as they pressed together in the dark of night hoping no one would look towards them. He had heard that voice, sleep rough and laughing as they finally were able to be themselves in the cheap Saigon hotel.  _

_ “Hey Dave,” he opened his eyes and smiled at the young man sitting beside him.  _

_ They were sitting side by side in a field dotted with little white flowers. Dave wasn’t that angry baby faced kid who stormed off, leaving Klaus heartbroken. His shoulders were broader, jaw more square. He had grown up and had grown up in a horrible war.  _

_ “So, turns out you were right after all. I was on that hill and then...I was here,” he shrugged. “Guess you really were a prophet after all.” _

_ “Not a prophet, just...really shit at time traveling,” Klaus pushed himself onto his elbows. “But, you’re okay now?” _

_ “Yeah. My parents are here and I know my sisters are coming soon. It wasn’t...ideal but...death is never ideal,” Dave smiled sadly. “This place is interesting though. That little girl showed me a place where I can see every possible path I could have taken.” _

_ “Really?” _

_ “Yeah...I could have survived the war and taken over my uncle’s hardware store. I would have married some nice girl and had kids and been happy,” he looked down at his hands. “I could have had someone drop next to my bed in the middle of the night and fallen in love with him. I still would die on that hill but in every timeline, that one was the happiest I was.” _

_ Klaus smiled at that, his throat feeling tight.  _

_ “And instead of that, I was scared and shouted at you. I was ugly and hateful and...scared,” Dave sighed. “I’m sorry Klaus.” _

_ “It’s fine,” he turned his head to look at him. “Hell, you were a closeted gay kid in a conservative town in the sixties and some dude in a fabulous shirt comes up to tell you that you’re in love with him out of nowhere. You were allowed to have a freakout.” _

_ Dave laughed and lay down next to Klaus, fingertips brushing against his. “I am sorry we never got to have what we should have.” _

_ “He can’t stay,” an annoyed voice came from behind him and he winced. The girl leaned over him, long hair falling into his face. “You have to go.” _

_ “I can’t have...five more minutes?” he grinned up at her but her scowl remained unchanged.  _

_ “You have to go.” _

_ Klaus groaned and looked at Dave who smiled sadly. “I’m getting kicked out of heaven again I suppose.” _

_ “Far too short of a visit I’d say,” Dave nodded at God who just rolled her eyes.  _

_ For a moment, Klaus just stared at him and tried to memorize the lines of his face. He sighed and turned back to God. This was his time for answers, to ask something that might actually help. He couldn’t spend it on wishing.  _

_ “Why isn’t he here?” _

_ God winced at that, her little mary jane shoe kicking at the ground. “He goes to my sister.” _

_ “Why?” _

_ There was another sigh and she blew a strand of hair out of her face. It couldn’t be good that God looked troubled. “There isn’t enough left of him to save. You should be careful, if you go that route it will chip away at you too.” _

_ “Won’t that happen anyway? You keep throwing me back to get broken again,” she at least looked a bit ashamed at that. “That’s just setting me up for failure.” _

_ She nodded. “I know.” _

_ There was a pulling sensation in his gut. “Can I say goodbye?” _

_ The pulling stopped. She nodded slightly and took a few steps back, looking up at the sky. They weren’t alone but it was better than nothing.  _

_ “So, you get to go back down there?” Dave asked, blue eyes bright. “Maybe you are some fancy prophet.” _

_ “Just unlucky,” Klaus smiled.  _

_ “Well, I’ll be waiting here when you come back,” Dave scooted closer so they were laying with their noses brushing against the other. “Take your time.” _

_ Klaus rolled his eyes and then lips pressed against his. It wasn’t the shy nervous kiss they shared in that smokey club. This was sad, broken promises and missed opportunities. All that time they had lost, all the love they could have had...it was overwhelming.  _

_ And then he felt that pull again and he was falling. _

They had managed to find the others in a small room in the basement. A window had been cracked open and while Five had no idea how Luther managed to squeeze himself in there, they were all safe and hidden.

Vanya had made a sobbing sound when they passed Klaus’s body through gently, eyes huge as she stared at him. She inched forward before carefully closing his eyes, one hand resting on his still chest. 

“He just snapped his neck,” Diego was saying but Five sat next to his brother’s corpse, criss-cross on the dusty floor. “But...he’ll be back, right?”

“How long do we wait?” Luther asked nervously. 

They had barricaded the door and blocked the window but it was still risky. The Other wasn’t the only monster creeping through the halls. One was out there too, he could become impatient and a dresser wouldn’t stop tentacles from ripping into them. 

“They talked for a while,” Five mused, eyes locked on Klaus’s still face. “He didn’t just kill Klaus outright. I don’t think he actually wants to.”

“To be fair, I don’t think he even knows what he wants or what is going on half the time,” Diego sighed. “He’s not exactly all there.”

“This is all because Reginald saw us at that bar,” Five looked at his family, frown on his face. “Think about it. Ben is his number one because he saw that even dead he was strong enough to possess Klaus for a minute. Klaus is his number two because he could channel him. He saw the potential there.”

“And he saw that Klaus’s drinking made it so he couldn’t reach his full potential,” Allison mumbled, face a bit pale. “He kept a shorter leash on him then?”

“It makes sense. Our father didn’t know, didn’t really care. He considered Klaus a lost cause,” Five tapped his fingers on his chin. “It would also explain where the rest of us are. He saw that Luther and Diego weren’t the loyal lapdogs he wanted. Boom, you’re gone and the useful parts are left.”

“Then what about you, me and Vanya?” Allison asked. “We’re not up there.”

Five shrugged and rubbed at his temples a bit. “No...maybe he was a bit pickier when he took the children then...passed us up. There are forty something of us after all. He got seven of us because we were the ones whose parents agreed to sell to him. What if he didn’t ask this time? He just took?”

“So, the Sparrow Academy is a super villain group of kidnapped children?” Allison huffed out a laugh. “That’s horrifying.”

“Well, raising us to be heroes and doing it the right way didn’t exactly accomplish his mission last time,” Five replied. 

“What mission?”

“I have no idea,” he said and then noticed a miniscule movement, Klaus’s neck snapping back into place, and his brother woke up gasping. 

Klaus nearly bent in half as he coughed and choked and wheezed. It had to be agony for your dying cells to be forced back into life. Rigor mortis had set in somewhat and now his muscles were fighting to take in as much oxygen as possible. 

“Welcome back,” Five nodded as Klaus looked at him with teary eyes. 

“Fucking depressing welcome party,” Klaus wheezed, sitting up with the help of Vanya. “Ugh, my neck hurts like a bitch.”

Diego winced at that, looking beyond troubled. Five was always good at compartmentalizing, putting feelings and thoughts into little boxes and keeping them very separate. Yes, it was horrifying to see his own brother die in such a violent way but he couldn’t think of that. Here Klaus was, alive and well. That was what he had to focus on. 

“What happened?” He asked.

“Met God, she kicked me out. Talked to...” he hesitated, meeting Five’s knowing gaze. “You didn’t go when I told you to go.”

“Nope,” Five shook his head. It was obvious Klaus didn’t want to talk about his lost love, that was fine. He could keep that to himself. “We wouldn’t leave you by yourself.”

“Lot of good that did me. He killed me,” Klaus rolled his eyes and rubbed at his neck with a grimace. Diego sucked in a short breath at that. “But, I think he is not like...a complete monster. He’s still a bit of a person.”

“No,” Five shook his head. “There’s nothing left there. We can’t start feeling sorry for him now.”

Klaus winced and looked down at the ground. “But it’s my fault. I...I was sober for three years in the sixties. I fell off the wagon, Reggie saw me and decided to turn that version of me into what he is. This is all because I couldn’t handle being rejected.”

“No,” Allison sat down by him, tears glittering in her own eyes. “You didn’t do any of this. Reginald is to blame, only him. He was the one who hurt those children. He was the one who made them into monsters.”

“He tortured them...I think he was trying to find everyone’s limits. I guess that...I don’t really have limits? I come back,” Klaus shivered and pulled his coat tighter around himself. “So, no matter how many times he killed him, he came back. Shit...he might have done it real young and...that’s so fucked up.”

“It is.”

“The other...me, he killed some of you in this timeline to stop the torture, to stop you from becoming like him,” Klaus blinked, a few tears trickling down his cheeks. “He’s in agony and he’s lost. We have to help.”

“What can we do?” Luther asked. He was the leader, the one who liked a plan. That was the exact opposite of what he was given here. “Any fight would just leave him coming back to life, same with you. If you both fought it would go on forever.”

“I don’t know,” Klaus shook his head and closed his eyes tight. “Can...can I just take a damn nap? That whole coming back to life thing really takes a lot out of a person.”

They agreed to rest. Luther and Vanya took the first watch, making some space so the others could at least lay down and get a bit of sleep. They were all still reeling from the fight at the farm earlier, energy sapped. 

“I didn’t know you were sober,” Allison whispered to Five’s right, where she was lying next to Klaus. “I would have never offered you that drink.”

“It’s not your fault,” Klaus mumbled. “You helped.”

“I just haven’t seen you sober since you were like thirteen. I didn’t think you could...I mean...” she stumbled over her words and Klaus chuckled. “I’m sorry.”

“I wanted to see someone. It was a good enough reason at the time. Then...I kept looking for him after we fell in Dallas. I didn’t want him to see me as a drunk druggie. He saw me instead as a liar and a con artist,” the heartbreak in his voice made something crack in his chest. “That was a good enough reason to drink.”

“Yeah,” Allison sighed. “Do you still see him?”

“I saw him in...I guess it’s heaven,” he sounded wistful. “We had a nice chat. Then I got sent back to this shit show. Count yourself lucky, at least when you die you’ll be able to spend eternity in paradise with the person you love. I get maybe ten minutes.”

Five blinked quickly, hot tears gathering in his eyes.It had been decades since he last cried, broken sobs wracking his frame as he ran through the ruined world. It hurt just as badly. 

“I wish Ben was here,” Klaus sounded half asleep. “He always knew what to do...I just didn’t listen to him most of the time.”

And Five’s heart broke completely. 

What else was there to lose? Was all of this because a stupid teenager wanted to test his powers? Show off? Had his jumping into the future started this whole chain of pain and misery?

Compartmentalize.

Lock it away.

Just focus on sleeping for now.

Five squeezed his eyes closed and let himself slip away.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Death of a child but he comes back.

He hated being in this room. 

Once upon a time it had been nice. There had been a little wooden bed in the corner, a chest of drawers, and tasteful wallpaper. Nothing special, not anything homey, but it was a safe clean place to lay your head at night. 

Now, the headboard of the bed was gone, as was one leg. The bed was held up on one side by a cinder block. The drawers were gone, empty spaces yawning. The wallpaper had been shredded in huge chunks, bloody streaks lining the walls where fingers kept  _ digging digging digging until skin split and nails broke.  _

It made the Horror inside of him churn with nerves. 

The sheets had been stripped from the bed, no one found any sense in cleaning them when they would just be drenched in blood again. Like now, Two lying on the bed with dark clotting blood draining from the hole in his throat onto the mattress that was already so badly stained.

A slit throat. One grimaced at that, looking at the white of his jaw bone and the gaping wound. It wasn’t the worst he had ever seen and Two would spring back just like he had done a million times. 

And there, the familiar hoarse gasp.

Before, the wounds would have closed long before he woke up. He would just squint up at the ceiling and gather his bearings before being just as animated as before. Now, he would gag and writhe in agony. The wounds would slowly close up, almost like whatever power he had was taunting him. 

“Who?” One asked as soon as the wound closed mostly up. The cut on his jaw, big enough to see a few of his teeth through his cheek, didn’t heal completely. It was still raw looking and Two winced when he tried to stretch his jaw out. 

“I...I had a terrible dream.”

“Who did this?” One asked again, watching as those glazed eyes drifted around the room.

“The Drowned One,” he sounded dreamy, a small smile on his face. “Right after I broke my neck. The other me.”

One nodded and pursed his lips a bit, waiting for Two to become adjusted to the world of the living. After a moment, Two pushed himself up into a seated position and leaned back against the wall. His hand made of bone drifted up to brush against his neck. 

“Did you know that the other versions of us have names?” He asked softly, voice rough. “Klaus. Diego. Luther. They all have their own names. How come father didn’t give us names?”

“I don’t know,” One shrugged. 

The teeth clenched through the gash in his cheek. Two’s fevered gaze continued to drift around, something One recognized by now. Brows were drawn in tight like he was puzzling through something. 

“Did...did I do the right thing?” He said quietly, fingers pressing into the reddened wound at his throat. “When I saved them...was I really saving them?” 

One thought about the others they had lost, the ones Reginald tested until they broke. Two always took pity on them. He thought of the dark haired one, the one they called Diego, gagging on water and gurgling out screams as he was drowned and given CPR again and again and again. He thought of the big one they called Luther, how Reginald forced him to hold more and more weight until it forced shattered bones to snap through his skin. 

“Yes, you were,” One mumbled and Two relaxed. 

“But they still killed me.”

This was the part of their relationship that One never really understood. Maybe it was because of what had happened when they were young, his role in making Two what he was. Reginald never called them brothers but...maybe this was what family felt like. Wanting to protect, wanting to help, wanting to keep them from pain.

“They killed you because you killed him,” One explained, sitting on the blood stained mattress next to Two. 

“I killed him  _ once _ ,” Two rolled his eyes. “And everyone freaks out. I was helping him, letting him go see the person he loved. Can you believe in another world...I could have loved someone? Someone could have loved me?”

“That must be nice,” One sighed and Two hummed. 

They sat in silence, just staring at the wall covered in bloody scratches from when the screaming became too much and Two tried to claw his way out of the room. The bones of his hand jumped, ruined nerves forcing it into spasms. 

“Can you help me sleep?” He asked softly.

“What do you want? A cup of tea?” One laughed, his smile falling at the momentary clarity in Two’s eyes. Why was it that he was the sanest when he asked for this? “I can’t...”

“If you don’t I will,” Two said firmly and One tried his best to not look at the blood splatter on the wall. How many times had Two bashed his own head in just to get a few hours of quiet? “Please...please One. I just need the screaming to  _ stop _ .”

“It’s too soon. You just woke up,” One argued. 

“Sometimes if I come back right away she feels bad and lets me stay a bit longer,” Two sighed, eyes sliding shut. “Just...just a few more minutes...minutes.”

One reached up and cupped the back of Two’s head, letting his fingers drift through the messy curls. Two blinked and gave him a tiny smile, leaning into the touch. Was this what brothers did? Comfort each other?

It was nice.

“I don’t like doing it. What if you don’t wake up?”

Two’s eyes fluttered a bit and his smile widened. “Wouldn’t that be grand?”

And then the gasp was reopened, the blood spilled again, and once more the light dimmed in his eyes. 

One let the tentacle recoil, the Horror sending a wave of...remorse? hate? through him. This had been their life. Death, fear and rebirth. It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t right. In another world they could have been happy. They could have had a family. 

Maybe...it wasn’t too late.

Maybe he could try to make things right that had gone wrong so long ago. 

\---

Five woke to the sound of far too loud whispers. 

“It’s a trap! There’s no way it’s not!” Diego’s voice was slightly shrill. “The freaking...Spartan horse or whatever!”

“It’s the Greek horse idiot!” Luther hissed back. 

“It’s the Trojan horse,” Fine interrupted, all heads swiveling towards him. “And what are you talking about?”

Diego looked a little annoyed at being corrected and motioned towards the large television that had been rolled into the room. “We woke up and it was here.”

“You  _ fell asleep _ ?” Five snapped, jumping to his feet. He looked around the room, ready to fight off whoever was there. “You fell asleep and they just...just rolled a TV in here? Did they think we were bored? That we needed to watch a Bill Nye video like we are in elementary school?”

“I like Bill Nye,” Klaus sighed next to him, getting an affirming nod from Luther. 

“There’s a box of tapes here,” Allison shook an old cardboard box full of video cassettes. “Clearly they wanted us to look at it. Maybe...we should?”

“No! What if one of their powers is to come through the TV like that girl in the movie?” Diego shook his hair a bit over his eyes and held his hands out. “We can’t risk it.”

“That’s stupid,” Allison grabbed the tape on top, showing them a post-it,  _ this one first _ . “We’re going to watch a bit. At the worst, it’s the other guy...I don’t know...showing us cartoons or something weird.”

Klaus hummed and nodded as Diego mumbled about the movie again. 

The tape was put in and for a few moments there were a few moments of static. Then, it focused in on a gym. The view was from one of Reginald’s security cameras, showing a floor curled by a group of children.

A lot more than seven children. 

It had to be all the children that Reginald had gotten, the ones he trained. Some were huddled together, nervously watching something beyond the camera, and some looked around angrily like they had something to prove. 

“Number twenty-six,” Reginald’s voice called out and a boy stiffened in horror. “It is your turn.”

Five realized what was happening. Their number One was in the ring, already covered in blood. Reginald was testing the children. The ones who passed, who were able to hold their own against the Horror moved up in number. The ones who didn’t...that had to be what they were all looking at. 

“But...but...” the boy stuttered as a few of the other children pushed him into the ring. He looked impossibly young in his too big uniform. “Please, not today.”

“The test doesn’t wait for you number twenty-six,” Reginald said shortly. “Defend yourself or fail.”

“That’s me,” Klaus whispered and Five realized with a jolt that he was right. The gangly boy with too wide eyes was a younger version of Klaus. A Klaus who was forced to prove his worth or die. “Oh shit.”

Oh shit was right.

On the other end of the ring One let the Horror out, tentacles waving in front of the boy’s pale face. His hands were clenched into fists, eyes fixed on the child trembling in front of him. 

“One...One we’re...we’re friends,” the child whimpered. “Please don’t.”

“Defend yourself. Use your gift,” One barked, obviously putting on a show. “Like we practiced.”

The green eyes were overly bright with tears. “You know it doesn’t always work.”

“Better hope it does this time,” the Horror pulled back and then flew at the child with terrible speed. 

Five didn’t know what their One expected to happen. What sudden force was going to suddenly spring up to protect him? Still, he looked shocked when the boy’s hands glowed for half a second before the tentacles pierced through him. 

Allison jerked her head to the side, covered his mouth with her hand. 

The child gagged and coughed, blood spilling from his lips as he fell backwards. One jerked forward, clearly stunned but Reginald’s shout made him freeze. 

“Don’t!” The man shouted. “A failure is a failure. No need to be sentimental about it. Get him off, we need to move to number twenty-seven.”

A few children quickly moved the body off of the floor before a larger boy replaced him. One followed the body with his eyes, looking completely crushed. Maybe there were even tears in his eyes. 

The fight started again, the large boy falling quickly to the Horror. Once again, a child was moved off the floor. Just as Reginald started to call out another number there was a shriek and all the children looked at something just off camera.

Reginald’s face lit up like a child at Christmas. He motioned quickly with his hand and the younger not-Klaus was dragged out, coughing and gasping on the air he was desperately trying to suck in. With all the comfort of a clinician, Reginald examined the smooth skin under the rips in the uniform. 

“How fascinating,” he mumbled, barely picked up by the speakers. Little Not-Klaus stared up at him in horror. “One, do it again. This is an ability we had not considered.”

“No!” The boy shrieked. “No, no, no! Please!”

“Hush,” Reginald snapped, shoving the boy back into the ring. “The validity of an experiment lies in its ability to be reproduced. Again.”

Allison’s hand shot out to stop the tape, face worryingly pale. “I’m not watching a child die over and over.”

“There are so many tapes here,” Luther looked sick, staring at the box in horror. “Are they all...him dying? That would be enough for anyone to go a little crazy.”

“He was the perfect test subject,” a new voice came from the other side of the closed door, Ben’s voice but colder. “Always got back up again. Some of the others got lots of practice time in, really honed their skills. I’d be happy to discuss it further if you let me in?”

“No fucking way!” Diego snapped back, knife in hand. 

“I got in earlier and didn’t kill you,” One reminded them. “And I could easily break down this door. I’m asking you, as a possible ally, to trust us.”

“You killed our brother!” Diego growled, shifting a bit closer to Klaus.

“Once!” A shrill voice came from the other side. “I killed him once and you won’t stop complaining about it! He came back!”

“You said allies, allies against what?” Five asked, focusing entirely on the door. There was a long silence on the other side, long enough that he wondered if they had gone. Then a soft sigh and murmur. 

“Reginald. He needs to pay for what he’s done.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has taken forever for me to post! I'm so sorry!
> 
> School has started up again and I've been super crazy busy. Then, I found out that I'm pregnant with my first child (ah!) so I've been a liiiiiiiiittle preoccupied. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter!

It was strange watching them react.

One steered their Two in and motioned for him to sit in a rickety chair. Klaus inched away from him, watching him warily as he ignored the request and wandered around the room. His ruined hand traced along the wall, bones catching on the grooves.

“Tell me why we shouldn’t just end you right here,” Diego growled, glaring menacingly. “There’s six of us and two of you.”

One looked at him, unimpressed. “I could rip you all to shreds in moments. He doesn’t stay dead so good luck _ending_ him. Plus, I’m pretty sure he’s killed one of you already.”

“I only killed him for a bit,” Two grumbled, looking like a little boy who was being chastised.

Diego locked eyes with Luther and they had a long, uncomfortable, awkward conversation with just their eyebrows and frowns. Five watched as Luther’s eyebrows jumped, Diego’s scowl deepened, and then they both let out a heavy sigh.

“You were Reginald’s little pet just a day ago and now you want to kill him?” Diego raised his chin a bit, eyes icy. “Tell me exactly why.”

A strange expression flickered across One’s face and his eyes slid over to where Two was studying a particular water stain on the wall. He hesitated, shoulders curling in just a bit before sighing. “You were raised in the academy as well. You had Reginald train you. Things started the same for us and they went wrong. You are a family, we are just surviving in an inhospitable world. I suppose…we never considered there could be another way.”

Diego deflated a bit at that.

“Families help each other, families protect each other,” Two’s airy voice drifted over. “They don’t kill each other for sport and hurt others because daddy said so.”

“Two,” One sounded a bit strained.

“They don’t rip and tear and hurt and bleed and _screamscreamscream,”_ his voice went low and hoarse, the wall illuminated a bit by the light coming from his eyes. A thin crack climbed along the wall, emitting that same glow. Then he swayed and the light faded.

“No, they don’t,” Luther mumbled, finally getting Two’s attention.

“I know you know that he has some of your abilities,” One continued looking between Luther and Diego. “He does. Some of you were here with us. He kept drowning you and resuscitating you until you were begging him to end it. And you? He tested to see how far your strength would go. Broke almost every bone in your body. Two did kill you both but did it out of mercy. He’s done a lot of that.”

“But then he said he forces them to stay here on Earth!” Diego argued.

“They’re not here,” Klaus spoke up, voice shaky. “Their abilities are but their souls aren’t.”

“Father doesn’t know that,” Two’s voice dropped into a whisper and his glowing eyes darted around the room. “He wanted me to keep keep keep them here but I couldn’t. I lie.”

There was a very slight release of tension as Diego relaxed a bit. Silence hovered uneasily between them before One spoke. “Did you watch all the videos?”

“Of course not!” Allison gasped, scooting a bit to stand in front of Klaus. She was probably feeling the same sick feeling that Five was at the mention of the tapes. He had seen some things during his decades with the commission but watching his brother suffer and die over and over seemed to go to far.

“Reginald taught us that before you face an enemy you must study them. There are four other academy members and you need to know you are facing,” One strode forward and dug through the box of tapes for a moment before holding up four. Two winced and let out a soft whine, the rocking on his feet going a bit faster.

No one moved for a moment before Luther went forward and inserted the tape. There was a whirring sound before the screen flickered to show the gym again. An older number Two, maybe a teenager, stood in the middle while a large boy circled him.

The innocence and nerves from earlier were gone. The beginning of the mania, twitching hands and slight jerks of his chin, were showing. Eyes with a faint glow followed the large boy as he circled. Then, quick as a whip, the boy’s skin changed into something brown and cracked. Parts of his skin seemed to ripple and then grow.

“He’s called The Stone,” One said shortly as the now long spike practically flew across the room. Two tried to dodge, obviously light on his feet from years of training, but it wasn’t enough. The shards of stone ripped through him as easy as wet tissue.

Two in the room let out a loud hum, eyes shut tightly closed as his hand fluttered around where the gaping hole was in his side.

“He used to heal, it’s not as…complete anymore,” One winced and pulled out the tape.

This time might have been before The Stone. Two looked younger and scared, eyes huge in the fluorescent light. Across from him was a slender girl, standing perfectly still and not even looking like she was breathing. Reginald counted them down and Two moved to strike.

Suddenly, his jaw dropped open and he staggered backwards. Two grabbed his head and shrieked so loudly it sounded like his throat was ripping apart. He fell to his knees and clawed at his face, blood blooming.

“The Mirage,” One said softly as the Two on the screen started slamming his own head into the ground again and again until he went still. “Creates images in your head. You have to be smart around her.”

Luther looked a bit green while One changed the tape out. Part of Five wanted to ask him to stop, just pretend that they didn’t even exist but they couldn’t. One was right, they had to know who their enemy was before they found them. It was just…studying. That was all.

This video had a tiny boy facing off against Two. This time Two looked a bit wary, taking wide steps to avoid being near. Of course, Reginald shouted that he needed to stand still and a pained look took over his expression. He watched nervously as the boy crept forward and took Two’s hand.

At first Two squirmed and then he began to struggle in earnest. A broken wail burst from his mouth as he pulled but the boy had it in a firm grip. Five felt nausea rise up and Diego quickly turned around as the skin on his hand began to bubble and redden. The skin itself started to _slide_ off, made only worse by the agonized shrieks.

Finally, Two was able to pull his ruined hand away before he vomited up a mess of blood and gore. His body fell hard to the ground before he seized for a moment and went still.

“The Atom,” One said. “Releases radiation when he touches you.”

“Radiation sickness is not fun, not fun fun fun at all,” Two mumbled, staring at his boney hand. “It burns.”

“I can’t watch another,” Diego’s voice was thick and Allison nodded, face incredibly pale. “Just…tell us. I won’t watch anymore.”

Five spared a glance at Klaus who looked like a breeze would knock him off his feet. His skin was paler than he had ever seen it, hands shoved into the pockets of his coat. A shudder ran through him at the thought of his brother turning into that broken, rambling _thing_ in front of them. How many deaths, how much pain did it take to break a person completely?

One nodded, lips pressed into a firm line. “The Beast. He can turn himself into a creature that is fast, strong and very dangerous. It can rip a person apart.”

“It takes time to put yourself back together,” Two piped in helpfully but Diego’s face went a shade paler.

The group stood quietly. Finally, Vanya spoke up. “Why did Reginald create the academy? He had us so we could fight crime. Said he wanted to make the world a better place.”

One laughed, high and cruel. “Not us. He wanted to make his world a better place, put his ideals in…but there are no heroes here.”

Allison let out a wounded sound, placing a hand over her mouth and Luther swallowed heavily. Was this academy really just Reginald’s muscle? What in the hell was he trying to accomplish? What did they fail to do?

“So, you’re asking us to save the world?” Five asked sarcastically, getting a small smile from One in return.

“We’re asking for your help to take down an evil bastard and his brainwashed lackies. The world being saved would be a nice bonus,” One shrugged. “Isn’t that what heroes do? See people in pain and stop it?”

Luther puffed up a bit at that but a glare from Allison made him stop.

“He knows where we are, doesn’t he?” Five looked around the room, sure that there were some cameras blinking away.

“Of course,” Two sighed, glowing eyes flickering open. “He sees everything, all eyes watching all the time.”

“I bet our Reginalds aren’t that different,” Vanya said, looking between her siblings. “Being overconfident…imagining that you are the smartest person in the room makes people lazy. We can use that to our advantage.”

Two giggled at that. “Funny funny Reginald, looking everywhere but doesn’t see. He was always the worst at hide and seek. This time we seek.”


	7. Chapter 7

“Do you see him?” Two asked, voice pitched high and wild. His eyes were lit with a strange glow and his lips twitched with the ghost of a smile. “The one right there?”

“Sure do,” Klaus mumbled back but kept his eyes forward. 

It was a bit unsettling that staring at his own face, twisted and broken, was less terrifying than looking at the  _ thing _ standing by him. The ghost hovering by him was literally in pieces. Limbs hung by threads of sinnew, the rib cage was fully splayed open and the organs spilled out. He had seen plenty of ghosts in his time but this one...this one was truly something else. 

“That was number thirty-six,” Two’s eyes traced the figure. “Ability was electrical manipulation before he got shredded by One.”

“You don’t say,” Klaus swallowed back a wave of nausea. 

This number thirty-six must have really pissed off One to earn this kind of treatment. Judging by the way he stared at Two, hands clenched with arcs of electricity jumping across, there must have been something between them. 

Like killing Two in a terrible way, earning One’s fury.

“But now his powers are ours for the taking,” Two bounced a little where he was sitting cross legged on the dusty floor. “And I’ll show you how.”

The ghost took a step back but Two waved a hand and he was forced forward again, a deep scowl on his face. Never had Klaus tried to  _ take from the dead _ before. It sent a chill down his spine. 

“I just did what I was told,” the ghost slurred, voice changed by the partially detached jaw. “I fought like I was told and I one. I killed  _ him. _ It wasn’t my fault he didn’t stay dead.”

Two went perfectly stiff for a moment, almost like he was frozen in time, before he smiled again and his shoulders relaxed a bit. “It’s easy. You just focus on them and then you kind of slip...once you have a hold of them you can use it. Try.”

Klaus squirmed a bit in discomfort. The ghost didn’t seem at all happy to be there, and his glare got even darker. He took in a deep breath, then turned his attention towards Thirty-Six. 

At first, nothing. 

Then, something gave.

The ghost startled, eyes widening, and started to struggle as a terrible chill settled over Klaus. After a moment a strange blue fog settled over his gaze and he blinked rapidly. The ghost let out a strangled moan and then it hit him all at once. 

Electricity sparked, the lights flared brightly, and then several lightbulbs burst. 

“You did it!” Two clapped his hands, a rattling sound coming from his half destroyed hand. His grin was made even more ghoulish by the teeth shining through the hole in his cheek. 

Klaus slumped back, a cold sweat making him shiver as he was suddenly overwhelmed with exhaustion. With shaky arms, he forced himself onto weak legs and stumbled a bit. He wasn’t sure what he needed...but he needed to get away from Two. 

He managed to steady himself on a vanity table and glanced up into the mirror. 

Looking into a mirror was never one of Klaus’s favorite things. Despite his jokes and pretended self-obsession, he hated seeing himself. He hated seeing how his skin had gone nearly grey, the way his eyes were bloodshot and pupils too large, or the track marks that bled lazily along his neck. It was a habit that continued even after he had gone clean and healthy in the sixties. 

But now, now he looked into the mirror to see his pale, drawn face and the light emitting from his eyes. 

“Nope, oh fuck no,” he mumbled, taking a few steps back. Two cocked his head, finally standing up. Panic consumed Klaus, a sudden desperation to  _ getoutgogogogo,  _ and so he did. 

He stumbled out of the door and into the larger room where the others were planning their attack strategy. Everyone’s head turned, Luther’s eyes widening almost comically, as he sagged against the wall and tried to blink away the blue haze. 

“I can’t,” he gasped out.

Five blinked directly in front of him, eyes narrowed and calculating. “Did you do it?”

Hysteria rose up in Klaus so quickly he couldn’t help the short, sharp giggle that left his lips. It was the thought that he sounded like Two for even a moment that caused tears to spring up in his eyes. 

“Klaus?” Vanya tried, sounding apprehensive. 

“I won’t. I won’t do that again. I won’t....I can’t,” he felt himself trembling. “I felt myself...slipping...becoming  _ him _ and I fucking can’t do that.”

Movement behind him made him flinch, moving away from where Two had appeared. He could see how slipping into the ghosts, feeling their anger, pain and hate could start twisting your mind. 

“No one is forcing you to become like...” Allison hesitated. 

“You can’t fucking ask someone to keep dipping their toe into death and expect them to come out peachy keen,” Klaus snapped. “Especially when it is the only goddamn thing you ask from me. I know there isn’t much love here between us but that is too much.”

Silence. 

Klaus could hear the blood rushing through his ears as his eyes flicked from sibling to sibling. There were a series of emotions running from hurt to confusion to fear. He swallowed back another bubble of hysteria. 

“Klaus-” Diego said, voice softer than he had ever heard.

“Because I know that you only need me as like...a telephone or...I’m not useful in any other way. I get that...but please not this. Ask anything else of me, but not this,” Klaus whispered, his body shaking so hard he felt himself sliding down the wall a bit. 

Vanya stepped forward, brown eyes warm and sad. “No one will force you Klaus. You’re not useless, not in the least. We....I get what it feels like to turn into something you aren’t because of your powers.”

Luther winced at that.

He shivered, arms wrapping around his waist. He hugged himself tightly. “I can’t join this fight.”

Diego bristled a bit so Klaus continued. 

“I can’t. I know you think that it is easy enough, like ‘Oh Klaus will just come back, he’s fine!’ but that’s not how it works,” he sucked in a short breath. “I can’t keep going back there. I can get a fucking second of peace, a glimpse of the love of my life, before I’m thrown back. It’s too much.”

Another beat passed and Vanya stepped forward, wrapping her arms around him. Klaus leaned into her hold and buried his face in her soft hair. 

He couldn’t do this. There was a time when he had been desperate to lose himself, wanting to have pieces of him slip away with every pill and sip. Then he found a purpose. To help his siblings, to find Dave, to improve himself. 

Would he really let himself become a raving lunatic? 

Was this their fight?

Two looked distraught, wringing his hands badly enough that the skin would crack and split. Red started to spread across his fingers and he rocked on his feet. It hurt,  _ hurt _ , to look at him. 

“No one is going to force you to fight,” Luther finally said. “But dad taught us to fight for those who can not fight themselves. He-”

“Made you drink the damn Kool Aid. Daddy dearest had his little toys to show off. It’s just in this timeline he switched from dolls to attack dogs,” Klaus mumbled. “And I’m not so excited to be daddy’s little soldier.”

Luther straightened his shoulders, eyes narrowed. “Excuse me for trying to make the world a better place.”

“By what? Bashing a few robber’s heads in? By cataloging moon rocks?” Luther took a threatening step forward. “This is not our fucking fight Luther. Besides, all your attempts to make the world a better place have led to its destruction so...”

Luther snapped at that. He moved forward, put his hands on Klaus’s shoulders and shoved him back into the wall. 

Everything moved so fast.

Blue flared across his vision, masking Luther’s ugly scown for a moment. The blood rushed in his ears which only partially drowned out the pained screams that echoed around him. The scowl quickly turned to a look of shock before he flew backwards. 

Just like that it was done. The blue and the screams faded, glass from the shattered lightbulbs tinkling as it fell to the ground. Klaus blinked, taking in the horrified expressions on his siblings’ faces. Luther lay against the opposite wall, shirt singed in places where the electricity had forced him back. He could even feel the jolts in his mouth as the sparks arched between his teeth.

“I’m not fighting in this fucking war,” he snarled. “I’ve fought in wars that have nothing to do with me and all that happens is that I’m left alone.”

He turned and shoved past Two, sending his bony body into the door frame. A few steps later and he was slamming the door of a small closet shut behind him, sinking down to the ground. 

The dark of the room was illuminated slightly by the glow emitting from his eyes, causing shadows to stretch across the walls. 

“It’s funny, our version of you was scared of me too,” Two said, a laugh in his voice. 

Klaus squeezed his eyes tighter and fought against the urge to vomit. 


	8. Chapter 8

They had a word for it back in Vietnam.

It was the only pop culture reference Dave seemed to understand, having watched Star Trek episodes on screens in Saigon when they managed to get some time. It was said as a joke at first and became less funny as time went on.

Redshirts.

The people sent first into battle, the people they would walk over filled with holes. They were the cannon fodder, the sacrificial lambs. They were the ones sent to certain death to help the others but no one dared say a word, argue against it.

Klaus had never been a redshirt before. He had been lucky.

He was one now.

Logically he knew that he should fight in this stupid war. If he took a strike for one of his siblings he could at least come back. He might be less whole than he was before but he would come back. Sitting in this little closet was doing nothing to help them.

God, when had he started missing the days when he only gave a shit about himself and got so high the world melted away?

“This isn’t my fight,” he whispered into his hands, pressing his back against the wall of the closet. He could hear his siblings quarreling on the other side of the door. “It isn’t. It isn’t.”

He needed Dave next to him. He needed Dave’s calming presence, the way he always knew exactly what to say. He needed those strong arms around him and the soft whispers in his ear, a hand smoothing his hair down.

What would Dave say?

_Baby, what do you think we’re doing here? This isn’t our war but we are in it now. We are able to fight for what is right, shouldn’t we?_

“At what cost?” Klaus mumbled, ignoring how insane it must seem to talk to his imaginary dead boyfriend. “Fighting in someone else’s war got you killed. It will make me completely lose everything. Is that worth it?”

He imagined the sad smile. _Choices that you and your family made led to this timeline being created. I died and you were able to find your powers. Everything has a purpose Klaus, every choice we make has an impact on the world. What impact do you want to have?_

“None,” Klaus mumbled.

That was true. After a childhood parading around and posing for photographers, he was more than happy to fade away. Hell, Klaus always imagined that he would die on a dirty mattress somewhere with a needle in his arm.

Maybe he already had…there were many hazy memories.

_That’s not true,_ Fake-Dave said.

“Maybe I’m already fucking crazy,” he mumbled, leaning against the wall. “Talking to no one in a closet.”

God, he would kill to hear Dave’s laugh at that.

Everything he had ever done was for himself. He had fallen into the pit that drugs dug him to escape the wails of the dead. He had lied and cheated and stolen to forget his life for just a moment. Even getting sober was solely so he could get Dave back and finding him was more selfish than anything.

Maybe it was time to change that.

He took in a few deep breaths and looked down at his hands. There was still a ghost of light at his fingertips but he pushed open the door and stepped out. Everyone’s head snapped towards him, Two’s manic eyes brightening even more but One had a hand on his shoulder to keep him from darting forward like he clearly wanted.

“Klaus?” Allison asked carefully.

“We’re just going to pretend that I didn’t have a meltdown, hide in a closet and have a full conversation with my dead lover. Got it?” He shot a look at them all and Diego held up his hands with a shrug. “This Degobah training session is done. If we are going to fight we need to do it now. No more hiding, no more giving them an advantage or the first strike.”

“That’s all good and all but-“

“I’m the only one here who has fought in an actual war. I am the only one here who has had any kind of experience in battle. Beating up bank robbers doesn’t count,” he pointed at Luther. “They’re looking for us and this building isn’t that big.”

Five nodded sagely, a finger tapping at his chin. “So…what? We waltz up to Reginald and ask him pretty please, stop having children murder each other?”

“We don’t ask,” Diego ground out. “We just end it.”

“You said Reginald had you fighting bank robbers and purse snatchers,” One spoke up, voice low and dark. “Reginald has been training us for years. I don’t know why but I do not think it is for stopping petty crime.”

“Then why?” Five asked.

“Reggie’s not a human,” Two sung out, garbled as he smiled and stretched the wound on his cheek garishly wise. “They’re trying to get this planet, collect it like a shiny marble. Get in control of every bit and then…get rid of anyone who will make it difficult.”

Five grimaced at that and an awkward silence followed.

“So…we’re going to get the bad guys?” Luther looked a bit hopeful at that.

“Yeah big guy, we’re going to get the bad guys,” Five sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Bad guys?” A new voice came from the door. “That is a bit subjective isn’t it? One might think the bad guys are the people who showed up uninvited to our home.”

A man stood there, broad shouldered and strong. He looked like he could almost go toe to toe with Luther, all muscles and terrible strength. The Sparrow Academy uniform was pulled tight across his chest and a wide grin stretched across his face.

“Sir is looking for you both. He’s rather angry,” dark eyes slid to One and Two. “He said to stop playing your games and end them all.”

Two things happened very quickly at that.

One tore his shirt open, the monster inside of him bursting forth to tear this new intruder limb from one.

The Sparrow’s teeth lengthened into terrible fangs and his fingers stretched into claws as he sprung at them, his body shifting.

So much for the element of surprise.


	9. Chapter 9

Klaus had always known he had self-destructive tendencies. 

There was the drugs and the alcohol and the risky sexual partners. None of it was done with any kind of self-preservation, in fact it was a bit of the opposite. Life fast and leave a sexy corpse, that was always his motto.

Until he realized he wouldn’t exactly leave a corpse.

But here, watching the Sparrow’s jaw elongate and fangs grow before it launched at them, he knew he had to stop it. He couldn’t imagine that thing tearing into Vanya’s throat or ripping Luther’s intestines out.

He always was impulsive.

The creature leapt forward and One’s tentacles burst from his stomach. They met in a clash that made Alison scream out, Luther pulling both her and a shocked Vanya behind him. The Sparrow pushed them further into the room, fangs and claws ripping at One’s tentacles and forcing out black blood.

Okay.

He could do this.

Klaus sucked in a deep breath and tried to find that energy he had felt earlier. Instead of fighting it, he pulled and tried to force it into his hands. After a heartbeat, there was a tingle and a slight rush of pain before a weak spark of electricity burst from his glowing fingers.

It hit the Sparrow, surprising him enough that he paused in his attack.

Klaus grinned, a thrill racing through him and a new feeling of power rising. He flexed his fingers to try again but the Sparrow’s yellow eyes narrowed and he launched himself at Klaus. He moved so quickly that One wasn’t able to block the attack and Diego’s knife was too slow.

“Oh fu-“

_“Wake up. You shouldn’t be here.”_

_“Yeah…well, I died I suppose.”_

_“You got your head crushed into pulp against a wall. That’s going to be a nasty mess.”_

_“Just…put me back together and send me back.”_

_“It’s not up to me.”_

And Klaus blinked awake.

The back of his head felt hot and damp, the thought making him shudder a bit. There was an urge to reach back and touch it but Klaus bit that back. He tried to focus his eyes, squeezing them shut before blinking a bit.

“Klaus!” Alison was in front of him, a fine spray of blood across her face and eyes wide. A quick glance around showed that they were alone but the sound of fighting came from deeper in the house.

“Where…” the words came out slurred and thick so he swallowed heavily.

“One pushed back the other guy and the fight followed. I stayed back to wait for you,” her eyes kept flicking towards the door.

Klaus pushed himself up to a standing position, ignoring the screaming pain in his head. She followed him, hushing him and trying to get him to sit but he pushed her back. “We got to go help.”

“Klaus, you brains are all over the walls…I mean like chunks of your skull are…” She went a bit pale. “Let’s just lay low until they come back.”

“We can’t,” Klaus stumbled a bit towards the door. “We have to help. This…they need help.”

Alison hesitated, standing perfectly still before nodding and taking his arm in her own. “Okay.”

“Besides, if they kill me I’ll be back in a jiff,” Klaus tried to joke but Alison didn’t smile.

They walked out, Klaus’s strength returning with every step. He could feel the blood congealing, tacky and stiff, but forced the thought from his mind. In a few minutes they were both running down the hall and into the main living room.

The room itself was a mess. Furniture was overthrown, holes had been punched in the walls and at least one Sparrow lay dead.

Diego was throwing knives as quickly as he could, trying to hit a weak spot on the Sparrow he was fighting but they dodged them. Luther and Vanya had teamed up, him throwing furniture for her to blast forward with a burst of sound. Five darted around the room in blue flashes.

It was hard to tell who was winning.

But what Klaus knew was that Reginald was loving this.

The man was standing at the bar, watching it all with a stern gaze. It was like he was watching a particularly fascinating cricket match, not the children he had raised tearing each other to pieces. Klaus stared at him, noticing that the other version of himself was doing the same.

Maybe if they showed the Sparrows that their master wasn’t invincible…

“Klaus,” Alison hissed warningly, nails sharp where they dug into his arm.

“It’s fine,” he felt a little manic. “Alison…I’m not useless anymore. Let me help.”

She stared at him but Klaus shook it off. He owed this to his family. The number of times Alison sent him to rehab, the looks Diego shot him when he was a beat cop and they dragged him into a holding cell, the way they all treated him like a child.

He deserved those looks. He deserved that judgement.

But now?

Now he was different. He had a purpose. Maybe that purpose was…dying for his family but still, he understood that he was important in a small way. He would die so they didn’t have to. They didn’t come back after all.

So, Klaus moved as quickly as he could, skirting around the edge of the fight. Alison stared after him but didn’t follow, a well aimed punch from a Sparrow knocking her off her feet for a moment before she fought back.

He took a few steps and then a screaming, bloodied… _thing_ rushed at him. A startled gasp jumped from his chest and Klaus extended his hands to feel absolutely nothing. The slender girl from the video, The Mirage, stepped forward and stared him down with cold eyes.

“Can’t spook me with some fancy show,” Klaus wagged his finger in her face. The girl cocked her head to the side and raised her eyebrows. “I have seen scarier shit than you can dream up.”

“I don’t intend on scaring you.”

There was a shift, like a ripple, and then the girl was gone.

In her place was Dave. The Dave that Klaus remembered, in his army fatigues that were stained with the mud from the jungle. He had the muscle from years of training and a tiredness in his eyes that only came from fitful sleeps on the damp ground.

“Klaus?” His voice knocked the air from his lungs.

“You’re not real,” Klaus wanted to sound strong, he wanted to push past this imaginary specter, but his feet were frozen.

Dave looked _hurt_ at that. His eyes widened and a desperate sadness filled them. “Not real? K-klaus…what do you mean baby?”

God, Klaus just wanted to ignore everything. He wanted to ignore the fight around him, wanted to throw himself into Dave’s arms, wanted to just let the world slip away. He wanted that so desperately.

_Klaus_

A familiar voice.

_Klaus, keep going._

But then Dave took a step forward, one hand taking Klaus’s and all rational thought fled. The fight faded around them, just like it had the day he felt Dave’s life slip away, and all he could hear was his own blood rushing in his ears.

And then Dave tugged.

And the knife slipped into his chest.

It had to be one of Diego’s knives judging by how sharp it was. The blade punched the air out of his lungs and he could actually feel his heart seize around the metal. He sucked in a gasp that went nowhere and stared up into Dave’s blue eyes.

_“It’s been less than an hour.”_

_“Yeah…well…oops?”_

_“You can’t be here Klaus, you’re going to start losing pieces along the way.”_

_“Send me back. I can do this.”_

And he sucked in a sharp breath, coughing out partially congealed blood. The fight was still happening around him and he had fallen behind a destroyed couch. The girl, the Mirage, lay dead next to him as well. Her blank eyes stared at him and Klaus swallowed heavily at the sight.

At least they were not Dave’s eyes anymore.

Okay. He could do this.

It was hard forcing muscles that had been deprived of oxygen to move but he did. Klaus pushed himself up onto his feet and surveyed the battle. One of the Sparrows threw jagged stones at Luther who punched them into gravel but he could tell his brother was tiring.

Just pull.

Klaus glanced down at The Mirage and heard furious screaming beside him, ghostly fingers digging into his arms as he focused.

The Sparrow froze in front of Luther who froze in surprise as well. A…a…he would make Luther grow. Bigger, stronger than he was, eyes red and teeth as long as his forearm. The Sparrow stumbled backwards in fear and managed to open himself up to one of Diego’s knives. Blood sprayed across Luther and the Sparrow fell.

“It gets easier, see?” Two’s hoarse voice broke through the fight as he sagged against the back of the couch. It looked like Two had been through hell and back as well, the muscle of his arm hanging gruesomely.

It was just like in Vietnam. He just had to keep going. One foot in front of the other.

Klaus climbed over the couch and slunk along the wall, eyeing where Reginald stood. The older man was watching the fight with an intense gaze, not even moving as the mansion was destroyed around him.

Mirage.

If he could create an image…could he erase one?

It took a bit of focusing but his hands flickered out of sight and he cloaked himself. There was nothing comfortable about it, like trying to squeeze into boots two sizes two small, but he grit his teeth and made his way to Reginald.

There he was.

Klaus was right behind him and…was that a…zipper?

Again, he was always impulsive.


End file.
